Panthers Fantasy Preview

[The Lung]

From: http://fantasy.sportingnews.com/nfl/experts/ladd-biro/20080814.html

Panthers: In Jake they trust
Aug. 14, 2008

WHAT'S NEW

Their star quarterback is coming off of Tommy John surgery. Their top draft pick is rehabbing from a toe injury suffered in college. Their superstar receiver is nursing a concussion incurred in the team's preseason opener. And oh yeah, the aforementioned receiver recently broke their starting cornerback's nose in a training camp fist fight, earning him a two-game suspension to kick off the 2008 campaign.

Yes, the stars are aligned for a magical season in Carolina!

In fact, aside from the fallout from Steve Smith's inexcusable assault of Ken Lucas, optimism reigns for the Panthers. Jake Delhomme, whose season-ending elbow injury in Week 3 precipitated the team's 2007 demise, appears to be fully recovered and ready to lead an upgraded air attack featuring Smith, former Seahawk D.J. Hackett and Muhsin Muhammad, who returns to Carolina after a three-year exile in Chicago.

Carolina also boasts one of the most promising young backfields in the league. Unfortunately, neither third-year player DeAngelo Williams nor rookie Jonathan Stewart is likely to offer consistent fantasy production operating in a committee backfield. However, Williams' outstanding performance thus far in preseason and lingering concerns about Stewart's toe-jam football injury -- immortalized in the Beatles' classic Come Together -- may give the veteran an opportunity to excel in the early going.

But the offense will have to face San Diego and Chicago with two hands tied behind its back, as Smith serves a team-imposed two-game suspension in Weeks 1 and 2. That's not the scenario that Delhomme and his fantasy owners were hoping for; but once Smith returns, all of the Panthers' offensive stars should shine brightly.

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[eastcoaster]

Thanks again, Lung, for another good article